Austurland
Austurland is a tribal society of on the south-east coast of Griffonia. Highly religious, their practices have much in common with ancient worship. Austurland has suffered constant raids from the slaving zebras of , and many wish an end to the conflict, either through diplomacy or war. Austurland is ruled by Ygritte. The Zebras will likely attempt to conquer or puppet Austurland using its focus war goals. Lore After the year 143 ALB, massive change occurred in the homeland of the deer. Peace was made with Equestria, bringing an end to lucrative raids. As the kings consolidated their power, many nobles were enraged by the possibility of losing their power. Unable to directly take back their rights, they took to the seas in search of wealth, and began the colonization era. Colonization era The deer began to move west under the leadership of Hoef Derickson, crossing the waves and settling many small islands they came across and the larger island of REDACTED. Channeling their roots they began to raid the exposed sea lanes of South Griffonia and North Zebrica, plundering them for their wealth. In Griffonia, this period continued for almost two centuries with limited colonization of islands and the plunder of loot from merchants and noble estates. But never resulting in a permanent presence. The deer did however begin to hold influence in the trade of the region under a succession of sea-kings. Through the expansion of and all the events of the eastern lands they remained a constant factor, always ready to raid and pillage The Princely Civil War The deer’s position in the region began to shift though when Lake City’s empire began to fracture. The Riverbank Griffons began their revolt against Lakeish authority and their fight for freedom. Seeing an opportunity for great plunder, the de facto leader of many of the deer in the area, named Hårald the Trotter, took his ships up the Evi River and sailed into the heart of , and sacked the main city of Kaiv. Disappointed by the relatively small city and expecting more plunder Harald began to scour the countryside for anything he could take, eventually meeting the main Cossack army lead by Kirvan Shirko. The griffon offered the deer a large sum of money, now called an Austurgeld, to strike at an Imperial Pony army nearby. The Griffons and Deer would meet the Lakeish ponies on the field near a settlement called Coltava. Both the Imperials (unknowing of the presence of the deer) and the Griffons were unprepared for the unusually cold winter to come, but it was the element of the deer. A messenger was sent from the commander of the Lakeish forces to the Hetman demanding the army’s surrender and the reincorporation of the steppes into the River Empire. This was of course refused, leading to a tirade of insults so thick and vulgar laid upon the Lakeish name that it is said to have made nearby wine turn sour. This slander was so vile that it provoked the lakeponies into attack. The battle was ended swiftly. After hearing of the presence of deer, whose agreement with the Cossacks had by then ended, King Haysil II, affectionately called the Lakepony Slayer dipped into his deep treasury and signed a contract with the deer as well. Eager to put them to use continuing to cull the Prince's armies As upon hearing of the defeat at Coltova, decided it was their time to break with Lakeish Authority and assert themselves as an independent Kingdom. A Permanent Presence Though the deer fought hard, the armies of the Princedom were numerous and Haysil could not afford the army forever. After hearing of one final Lakeish attack, with the intention of wiping all the revolting states out in one cruel blow, Haysil took a desperate step. He offered the deer a small barren plot of land to the South East where they would rule as lords, in exchange for taking this last army down. While Harald’s goal had always been loot, he was now a bit older, and decided that if nothing else this would be a good base to strike out from once more if he so wished. Moving his army north Harald joined with the armies of all the revolting states. ponies, griffons, and deer fighting side by side and utterly demolished the army of the Prince. Fulfilling his contract he now moved south to claim his land. He would not be anywhere near Lake City when the Prince of Rijekograd surrounded the capital and forced Sacred Song’s surrender, thus ending the war. Harald would pretend to serve the throne of Wittenland for another few years following the death of Haysil, but after seeing the clear decline of Wittenland's authority over their Kingdom, he would make it one of his last acts as the first Jarl of Austurland to tear up his obligations and establish Austurland as truly independent, and it would be his heir, Tyrian Gullhorn, who would sign the pacts that would ensure that Austurland would never be thrown back into the sea. These agreements with many of the Riverlands states said that the deer would not strike up the river at them, if the ponies never attacked Austurland. And against all odds, the agreements held, and so Austurland remains ever vigilant and ever conscious of their past. ru:Ост_Колониэн Category:Countries